lots of fly rods out there. maybe on average more expensive rods are better? but there are some outliers: some less expensive rods that are great, and some more expensive ones that aren't really great?

one source of bargians imho opinion can be "private label," a rod made by one company but sold by another company under a different name. for example, there have been some good closeout deals on cabela's LST and PT+ fly rods in the past, they were made by st croix and pretty nice for the $ when on sale.

I never regretted buying my Sage's. No one has enough data to say you catch more fish, but I enjoy my fishing experience more.I noticed a big difference when I traded up from a 6wt St Croix legend ultra (a very good rod, that I recommend "for the price") to a Z-axis of the same size and weight. Night and day IMO.Considering the fenwick is a starter rod IMO (unless I am misidentifying what you have), going to a premium rod (Sage, Winston, Scott) the difference will be significant. As others said, look beyond Sage (I happen to like them the best) and definitely try to fish them for at least 30 minutes rather than cast them in a parking lot.

k-bob wrote:one source of bargians imho opinion can be "private label," a rod made by one company but sold by another company under a different name. for example, there have been some good closeout deals on cabela's LST and PT+ fly rods in the past, they were made by st croix and pretty nice for the $ when on sale.

Redington is the largest producer of private label rods and reels. Sometimes you can get a great private label rod and sometimes you get an absolute piece of junk. The LST's were nice casting rods but were way too brittle.IMHO, one of the best orivate label rods out there was the Orion by Bean... built by Loomis. What I wouldn't give to have another 10ft 8wt.

what ever brand you upgrade to you will like and enjoy for a lifetime. so really it will be a 1 time purchase.

last spring i met a rod builder on the clarks, he uses batson blanks, after chucking his zuddler 10 or so casts i picked up 3 fish. it had amazing sensitivity and would have never guessed that i did not have my sage in hand for hundreds less.

I really want to thank all of you for your thoughts and comments. Here is where I am on this. Last year I bought a used 10 ft 5wt Powell to fish the Wb Upper Delaware. Cost on Ebay $240. Love this rod. Last Powell to be manufactured in the USA. I suspect this might be too much for the EB of the Bitteroot. I have a 6ft Cabellas Tight Quarters which might be productive on the WB/EB of the Bitterroot. My 3rd rod and my working horse rod is my 8 foot 6 inch Fenwick. This is the rod I am thinking should be upgraded. Should I upgrade the Fenwick? And with what. Seems dumb to go 9 foot when I have the 10 foot Powell.

Posted on: 2013/2/12 21:55

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I would go 9 ft. 5 wt. Its a versatile rod and fits in your aresenal perfectly. I wouldnt worry about it against your 10 ft. Thats a huge jump and you will appreciate the extra four inches on western waters and its still short enough to fish medium eastern streams. Plus with the fast action of the modern rod, you can string it up to a 5.5 wt or 6 wt easily and perform very very well. If I could only have one rod thats what it would be...

Check out the yellowstone angler 5wt. shootout. I tested a lot of their rods and find their results are pretty accurate. I settled on the Hardy Zenith and reviewed it in the gear section.

if the fenwick was your work horse you want to replace it with another work horse of better quality. as stated the 9ft 5 wt is a very good all around rod an 8 1.2 ft would also work. you can cast streamers to tricos with it. as for brand and action, that is a personal decision that is best made by trying different rods. some shops have loaners or rentals to try, i would start there. also try going to different outings where there are lots of flyfishers and ask to try some out. i'm sure many would gladly allow you, I know i would and if you're in western PA you can come and try any of my outfits. the main thing is if you're going to lay out that much cash, try and get some stream time with the rods first.